I attest to the stiffness of this frame. My commuter for the last almost 5 years. This frame may have saved me from serious injury. I was forced into a tall curb while riding at night and i'm convinced that while the frame broke about 2 inches from the head tube, It absorbed much of the impact allowing me to get to work on time that day.

[Jul 02, 2011]

Lenny Gordon

Road Racer

OVERALLRATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

VALUERATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

Strength:

climbing, sprinting, all out speed, comfort

Weakness:

rear can skip a little on bumpy surfaces

Bought as frame and fork and is the best $350 ever spent! Not the lightest bike out there but it's stiff, comfortable, climbs well and descends like a rocket! It responds well to jumps, and can sprint with any bike out there. I know it's ten years old but does not feel like it, and gives me pleasure every time I turn the cranks.

Similar Products Used:

Look 555...Colnago Master Light... Schwinn Paramount

[Dec 16, 2004]

daneil

Road Racer

OVERALLRATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

VALUERATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

Strength:

Weight, Strength, Stiffness, Construction Quality.

Weakness:

Nothing.

A beautifully light and stiff frame, my size Small 2001 TCR Team (euro black anodized version) is my favorite ride for the short crit like road races in Prospect Park. I stayed away from CF because of the prospect of crashing in races, with this frame I keep the same light weight of a CF bike, but with worry-free Al.

Similar Products Used:

2000 Mountain Cycle MOHO Road.

[Jun 10, 2002]

ruzhyo

Recreational Rider

OVERALLRATING

4

★★★★★

★★★★★

VALUERATING

4

★★★★★

★★★★★

Strength:

Weight, price and not many locally

Weakness:

Frame flex

Just got it built up at the LBS today and rode 25km home. Feels good. It feels smoother and with more 'suspension' then my rigid Cdale MTB. Frame is not as stift as a my CAAD 3 MTB. Climbs like a mountian goat.

[Jun 07, 2002]

Toni Torres

Road Racer

OVERALLRATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

VALUERATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

This frameset comes from Once's rider Jan Hruska and it's a special size between the small and the medium one;it's the lightest frame I've ever ridden and the more confident on downhyls;I'm mounting full Record;Mavic Ksyrium SL and Cinelli solido ,solida handlebar and stem;SLR saddle;giant aero carbon post;etc; this is a very light rigid and fast bike , I'm very pleased because of having purchased this bike ; more also if you know that it has cost me only 2437 $....

[Apr 03, 2002]

Pat Kelly

Road Racer

OVERALLRATING

4

★★★★★

★★★★★

VALUERATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

Strength:

LIGHT, fast, great climber, stiff, CHEAP!!!

Weakness:

decals sucked....so i took them off

I built my size medium Team Once frame up with very light parts and got the bike to weigh 13.2 lbs!!! It climbs like a goat and is a great sprinter. Pretty amazing that I could buy a 2.1lbs frame and a Look carbon fork for $400....wow!!! Bike is unreal and the price is even more unreal

Similar Products Used:

Outback scandium frame(which i snapped)
Kavik scandium frame

[Dec 22, 2001]

murawski

Road Racer

OVERALLRATING

4

★★★★★

★★★★★

VALUERATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

Strength:

Very light
Good climbing and handling
Excellent frame for the price (especially for the weight conscious)

Weakness:

Seat post creak

I bought this frame to replace my LeMond. It is a very tight and compact road frame. I love it for climbing, and it corners like a dream. I, like one of the other reviewers, had problems with my seat post creaking. But that has not been a problem since I switched to a carbon post. I did not have to have the fork warrantied. My frame was bought after the design was changed (so I have the carbon steerer model). I also have the anodized frame, so I don''t have to worry about keeping yellow paint clean. I have no problems with the frame flexing, but I am only 5''10" and 150lbs. It is a great frame for the price.

Similar Products Used:

None

[Nov 17, 2001]

Johan 12 years Zeelie

Recreational Rider

OVERALLRATING

4

★★★★★

★★★★★

VALUERATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

Strength:

It''s very light and stiff. The smooth welding is strong and looks cool.The aerodinamic carbon fork. The looks is another strengh!!

Weakness:

A bit flex on the fork but none other at this stage.

This is a great bike for its price and it is close to other more expensive frames.It''s very light, stiff, strong and compact. It responds good on climbs and sprints. The coulors look cool (yellow and black).

Similar Products Used:

Trek

[Nov 03, 2001]

ChrisD

Road Racer

OVERALLRATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

VALUERATING

5

★★★★★

★★★★★

Strength:

The frame is stiff, quick, light, aerodynamic and responsive what more do you need, especially at such a low cost.

Weakness:

The transfers on the carbon forks tend to collect dirt. This is also my first bike with a sloping top tube choose your seat post carefully my ITM Millennium pin tends to creek a bit which can be disconcerting.

This bike looks the business and always gets a lot of attention at club runs, the trouble with this is the yellow paint job takes a lot of cleaning to keep it looking good.
I am quite a tall rider at 6''2" I wondered weather even the large frame would feel a bit small, but now I''m used to the new geometry it seems weird riding my winter bike with its more traditional shape.
Overall I would recommend this bike to anyone starting out in road racing like myself.

Similar Products Used:

None

[Sep 28, 2001]

RollinFast

Road Racer

OVERALLRATING

3

★★★★★

★★★★★

VALUERATING

3

★★★★★

★★★★★

Strength:

Cornering, weight

Weakness:

not stiff enough

This is a frame that has some very strong characteristics to it, and it has some very poor characteristics to it. Let''s start with the bad and work up to the good. First of all, this bike might be light, but it compromises in stiffness. Therefore you lose a lot on the sprints and climbing. This is my biggest complaint of the bike. The second complaint are the shortcuts that were taken with the frame. The first and most obvious are the decals on the frame. You just know from the time you take the frame out of the box, that they are not going to last. After riding the bike for six months, I don''t feel the paint is the same shade of yellow as it originally was. So the paint discolors with time, although my white Trek 5200 frame discolored from white to yellow in a much shorter time. The good of the bike is first of all the weight of the frame. At just barely over 2 pounds, it is among the lightest out there, but I also feels this affects the stiffness of the frame for the worse. This bike corners like a dream. It is an advantage for crit racers, and my positions in crits have improved due to the daring cornering I am allowed to make with the bike. The bike is fast overall, but I don''t enjoy the frame like I have enjoyed other frames I have owned.